Bad Aim
by meandmylife
Summary: Sarah's relationship is going seamlessly. She decides to try to spread this trend of a happy ever after to her friends. Playing cupid is hard though, and sometimes you don't notice that you're aiming wrong. At the end of a festive occasion two things are admitted, one is a stronger commitment and bond and the other a change of heart and direction. (Not Phan)
1. Intro

Sarah's relationship is going seamlessly. She decides to try to spread this trend of a happy ever after to her friends. Playing cupid is hard though, and sometimes you don't notice that you're aiming wrong.

At the end of a festive occasion two things are admitted, one is a stronger commitment and bond and the other a change of heart and direction.

**A Danisnotonfire and AmazingPhil fanfiction.**

Hey, so this is the sequel to Completely Unexpected that you all have been waiting so patiently for.

The updates will not be as regular as they used to be, this is because contrary to when I was putting out Completely Unexpected the story is not finnished yet. I will be putting out a chapter twice a week, so every Wednesday and Sunday. I hope that will be regular enough. I have a few chapters already written, but you might still catch up to me and then the updates will depend on how fast I write, although I don't want it to come to that.

Anyway, I really hope you like the story. I fyou haven't read the first part of this story, Completely Unexpected, I sugget you go and so that right away.

Again I appologise for the amount of chapters this fanfiction will probably end up containing, but the chapters are almost all between one and two word pages, so in the end it might not be as much reading as you would think.

**Cast:**

**Sarah - Andrea (myself, my profile picture is a picture of myself if you're wondering what I look like, I know I'm only 17 and Sarah supposed to be 19, but just add a couple of years to the picture)**

**Dan - Daniel Howell (himself, an amazing YouTuber, if you don't know who he is I suggest you go stalk him on the internett)**

**Phil - Philip Lester (himself, another amazing YouTuber, can also be stalked on the internett)**

**Ally - Erin Heatherton**

**Valery - Emma Stone**

**Anna - Emma Watson**

**Leah - Emilie de Ravin**

**Marcus - Jonathan Taylor Thomas**


	2. Chapter one

**Chapter one**

I woke up in a comfortable bed, it was not my bed, but it wasn't unfamiliar either. Suddenly all the events of the night before came flooding back into memory. I tried moving, but felt a pair of arms tighten around me.

"Good morning" I heard Dan say from behind me.

"Oh, sorry, did I wake you?" I asked worriedly.

"No, no, I've been awake for a little while. I didn't want to move in case I woke you" he explained. I turned around in his arms and gazed into his loving, chocolate brown eyes. "So, I guess I played my cards right last night huh?"

"Oh, shut up" I exclaimed hitting his chest with my fist lightly. He found my lips and kissed me sweetly. The already tight grip he had around me tightened as he pulled me on top of him, without breaking the kiss.

"Will you let me go now?"

"Fine" he loosened his grip on me and I started climbing off him. As I sat up though he grabbed my waist and rolled over so he was on top of me. He sat up looking triumphant and shook his hair out of his face. I had always enjoyed watching him shake the hair out of his face.

"Am I ever going to be allowed to get out of this bed" I looked at him with puppy dog eyes.

"I was going to go with no, but I can't say no to that face" he climbed off of me.

"Really? I should use it more often" I said as I got off the bed and walked over to the door.

"Well, the other one is probably even more effective" Dan admitted.

"What other one?" I asked confused.

"You know the one you do when you . . . never mind" he trailed off.

"No, tell me, I need to know these things" I insisted.

"I don't know how to explain it, the one with the lip biting and stuff"

"Oh" I said with realization "this one?" I asked giving him my most seductive look while biting my lip and clutching the door with my one leg.

"Yes" he whimpered "That one" I had him now, all hot and bothered.

"Good to know" I opened the door wide and walked down the hall. I turned around when I reached the stairs to see that Dan's eyes were still following me, mainly focused on my butt. Dan had leant me one of his shirts the night before, but it hung down so it was barely covering my butt and some of my sexy underwear was visible.

Dan hadn't even noticed I had turned around and caught him staring at me. When he noticed he looked away bashfully, I rolled my eyes and I went down the stairs to the bathroom. I returned to find Dan perched on the edge of his bed, now dressed in sweatpants and a t-shirt (earlier he was just wearing boxers if you were wondering), with his laptop on his lap.

He hadn't noticed my return yet so I climbed on to the bed sitting next to him on my knees "Anything new and interesting" I asked placing myself as close to his face as possible.

Dan jumped a little bit "How did I not notice you coming inn?"

"I don't know. That's why I thought there might be something interesting going on that was distracting you"

"Nope, nothing interesting"

"How boring" I stated lying down on my back with my feet perched on top of the bed's headrest. I saw Dan's gaze leave his computer screen and find my midsection. I looked down and found that his t-shirt had ridden up a little when I laid down, exposing my underwear completely and uncovering my bare stomach.

When Dan looked at me like that it always made me feel more confident because I knew I had a guy who really liked me, for me, and that he like my body as well.

"I really like this outcome. Have I already said that?" Dan admitted.

"Yes you have, you said it the last time and last night, but you know it's actually better this time" he gave me a questioning look "Well, this time you can look _and_ you can touch" I teased.


	3. Chapter two

**Chapter two**

After a few minutes we came out of the bedroom. I had put on a pair of Dan's sweatpants, because I didn't really want to walk around their apartment half naked when Phil was there.

We entered the kitchen, Dan grabbed to bowls and poured cereal for us both, and then some milk in his.

"Thank you" I said cheerily as he handed me my bowl. He took my hand and led me out into the lounge.

Phil was sitting at the table staring at his laptop with a bowl of half-finished cereal next to it. It didn't look like he had noticed us come in, but when we sat down he looked up at us and gave us both a big smile.

"Good morning love birds" he greeted us.

"Good morning Phil"

"Oh, would you stop with that 'love birds' stuff, we're not 'love birds', we're just two people in a relationship" Dan grunted.

"Stop being such a party pooper" I shot at him "I like it" I said turning to Phil with a big grin.

"I'm just happy for you guys Dan. It's kind of like my OTP just got together, I mean I've been routing for you guys from the start" Phil smiled back at me.

"I'm glad I never really shipped Phan. If it's real, you guys have a funny way of showing it. Is there anything the two of you want to say to me before we go any further in this relationship?" I looked back and forth between the two of them.

"Wow, even when I get a girlfriend she thinks I'm gay. What? Do you want me to prove it to you or something?" Dan asked.

"No, that's ok. I would say you proved it pretty well last night" I said leaning over and pecking him on the lips.

"Well, if that's the only way you'll believe me then I'll gladly do it again" Dan said leaning over and kissing me sweetly, but passionately. I grabbed his neck, pulling him closer to me.

"I'm sorry to cut in guys, but I'm kind of eating here, could it wait for later, or could you maybe take it somewhere else?" Phil asked politely.

I broke the kiss and turned away "Of course, sorry Phil. Come on Dan, let's just eat our breakfast for now" then I turned to him and saw that he looked kind of disappointed "Oh get over yourself, you got plenty of this last night _and_ this morning" I gestured to my body smiling at him cheekily.

"Don't need the details" Phil interrupted.

"Oh, come on Phil, let the 'love birds' have some fun with their new relationship" Dan retorted smiling and looking at me from the corner of his eye.

For a little while we all sat and ate our cereal in silence. Phil tuned his attention back to his computer and Dan and I couldn't seem to stop grinning at each other.

"Sarah" Dan looked at me in concern and realization "don't you have to be at work now?"

"Normally yes, but you see I foresaw the actions of last night, so while you were making dinner I texted my manager to ask if I could take a later shift" I explained.

"Smart" Dan stated.

"Yeah, you two definitely got some action in last night" Phil added, not even looking up from his computer screen.

"Hey, it's way more than what you've been getting lately. So, don't butt in with your jealous comments when you don't even have a comeback" Dan mocked.

"Do you guys always bicker this much?" I asked in irritation.

"Only when Phil is being jealous" Dan retorted childishly.

"Well, then we'll have to get him set up with someone of his own, so I don't have to listen to this anymore" I announced.

The room fell silent after that, "Hey, Dan I have some time to kill before my shift, why don't we go outside, I know the outside world is really daunting, but I think we need some fresh air" I suggested.

"Fine" Dan agreed reluctantly.

I grabbed our now empty bowls, shuffled to the kitchen where I rinsed them and put them in the dishwasher, and then came back to the lounge.

"You coming?" I asked.

"Yeah, of course" he answered breaking off the conversation he had obviously started with Phil. He followed me back into his bedroom where we both changed, he into a pair of black jeans and one of his many black t-shits, and I into my jeans from the night before, but kept the shirt Dan had leant me on. I grabbed my shirt from the night before and stuffed into my bag.

We pulled on our shoes and jackets in the hall and shouted a quick goodbye to Phil before we headed out. First we walked to my place; I wanted to get changed so I didn't go into work with the clothes from the night before. Also, I wanted to sort my hair and face out.

I left Dan in the living room and went to change. Just as I was about to start undressing I heard the door creak open form behind me.


	4. Chapter three

**Chapter three**

"I thought you were going to watch some TV" I stated pausing right in the middle of unzipping my jeans.

"Yeah, but there was nothing on, so I thought I'd come in and watch you. That's way more interesting than the telly" he explained nonchalantly.

"Ok?"

"Hey, I've seen you undress before" he said grinning giddily at me.

"I know, but then I wasn't the only one doing it, and you weren't just standing there watching, you were kind of busy with other things" I tried to make him understand.

When he didn't budge I decided to just ignore him and started unzipping my jeans again.

"You know this will probably go a lot faster if"

Dan cut me off "If I help?" he asked hopefully.

"No, if you're not here. Then I won't feel like I have to look sexy all the time" I was prying off my jeans and it was really hard to try to look sexy while doing that.

"Nonsense, you look sexy even when you're not trying" he could be so sweet some times.

"Thank you very much Daniel" I walked over to him, stood up on my tiptoes and pecked him lightly on the lips.

"No, problem. I mean it's true, so as long as I get to watch your sexy ass be undressed then I'm going to tell you how sexy you look" he said reaching down and cupping my butt.

I swatted his hand away "Hands off the merchandise" I retorted and scattered back to my closet. I removed my shirt and dived in to look for a different bra. When I found one I reached behind me to unclasp the one I was wearing. Just then I felt a presence creep up behind me and radiate heat onto my back.

"Let me help you with that" I heard as Dan unclasped my bra with ease. He pushed the straps off my shoulders and down my arms. I took the bra and placed it in the closet. His hands were on my waist holding me tight to his body, and he was craning his neck over my shoulder to get a better view. "I just had to have one last look" he reasoned and kissed my neck.

I rolled my eyes "Ok, show and tell is over now" I announced starting to fasten the new bra around my chest before slipping the straps onto my shoulders and securing the bra in place. "Come on Dan, let me get dressed otherwise we'll never get out of here" I said turning around and pushing him away from me.

"What if I don't want to get out of here?" Dan questioned looking up and down my body.

"That doesn't make any difference, I do, so shoo" I shooed him away with my hands. He took a few steps back and stayed there, watching.

From my closet I picked out a pair of faded blue jeans, a pinky-peachy tank top, a comfy grey sweatshirt and some colorful socks. I pulled on the jeans, tank top and sweatshirt and walked over to the bed where I sat down to put on my socks.

"Ok, let's get going" I announced getting up. Dan followed me out into the hall where we both pulled on our shoes and jackets yet again.

"So, where to?" Dan asked as we exited the apartment and I locked the door behind us.

"Actually, there's this really nice park that I walk through every day to and from work. Does that sound good to you?" I suggested.

"Sure" so it was decided.

When we got out of my building Dan grabbed my hand and intertwined out fingers. It's not like this was our first date or anything, but that still gave me butterflies. We walked down the street, turned a couple times, and then we reached our destination.

It wasn't the biggest of parks, but it had a lot of nice leafy trees, even though fall was definitely upon us. Most of the leaves had turned orange, yellow and red, but a few green ones still made their appearance. In the middle of the park was a cozy open area with benches around it. Dan and I selected a nice looking bench and sat ourselves down. We sat in silence for a moment; Dan took our hands in his lap and started playing with my fingers.

"Um, so I guess you're my girlfriend now" Dan said almost inaudible looking down at his hands.

"Wow Daniel that's a great way of asking a girl to be your girlfriend" I shot back.

"Oh, sorry, it's just this part is always really awkward and I didn't really known how to ask and . . . and" his voice kind of faded, not knowing what more to say.

"I'm kidding Dan, it's fine. We basically already are a couple, I didn't even think you were going to ask, but I'm glad you did. It's nice to know we're on the same page" I admitted.

"Oh good" he let out a sigh of relief. He leaned over and I met him half way, our lips met and the moment was perfect. I pulled away, and he was staring into my eyes lovingly. I thought this would be the perfect moment to play a little game.

I poked him in the stomach and announced "Tag, you're it" before hopping off the bench and starting to run. It took Dan a couple seconds to react, but soon he was on my heel in a wild chase. Not surprisingly he caught up to me quite fast; his legs seemed to be double the length of mine.

When he caught up with me he grabbed me from behind and lifted me off the ground. I squealed and flailed helplessly with my arms and feet to the best of my abilities. Dan spun around with me in his arms making me thoroughly dizzy.

"Let me down, let me down" I pleaded.

He put me down with care before poking me in the arm, shouting "You're it" and running off. I ran after him, but as I said earlier he ran much faster than me, so if he wanted to he could have made me chase after him for a very long time. I was about to give up when he ran behind a big tree and I didn't see him come around the other side. I followed at full speed, but was abruptly stopped when I ran into something, or rather someone.

When I had gathered my bearings I looked up to see that the person I had run into was of course Dan. He was looking down at me now as well; he had probably foreseen this outcome.

"I guess you're it now then" I squeaked, I was all of a sudden very nervous for no apparent reason.

He placed his arms around my shoulders and hugged me to him "No, we're both it"

I didn't know what else to do but wrap my arms around him as well and enjoy the moment. I felt his warm breath against my cold neck through my bush of hair. We pulled apart and he tucked some of my hair behind my ear before leaning down and kissing me. At first I thought it would just be a short sweet kiss. Something had changed in the way Dan kissed me since the events of last night. It was like now that he knew I felt the same about him as he did for me he knew I wanted the same as him and that was to get in each other's pants.

What started out being a short sweet kiss developed into something more like a full frontal make out session. I knew that every kiss we shared wouldn't turn into something like this, especially after we got further into our relationship, but it was nice to relish in these moments for as long as they lasted. When we eventually might lose our spark I wanted to be able to remember these moments so we could find it again.

So, I pulled his body closer to mine and stood up on my tiptoes to be able to reach his mouth more easily. He was cupping my face with his one hand and the other was now holding around my waist helping me reach up.

I don't know how long we stood there in that embrace making out, but suddenly Dan broke it up and I must have looked disappointed because he smiled reassuringly down at me as I lowered myself down to my normal height.

"Don't you have to be getting to work soon?" he asked and I now understood why he had broken off the kiss.

"Let me check" I pulled out my phone and realized he was right and I would be expected at work quite soon. "You're right, I better get going actually"

"Ok" he bent down and kissed me softly "Bye, text me when you're done"

"I will. Bye" I said as I started walking off in the direction of the shop.


	5. Chapter four

**Chapter four**

I got to work in the nick of time. Leah was there of course, when I stepped into the actual shop she was standing at the coffee machine. Our eyes locked and she looked so ashamed and upset that I just wanted to scurry over to her and give her a big hug.

That's exactly what I did, or rather I scurried over to her because she was only a few meters away from me, she started to stutter out some sort of an apology, but I cut her off with that big hug I had already decided to give her.

"Shut up" I told her after I had released her "I've already forgiven you, don't make me regret that" she nodded; I knew she definitely didn't want that to happen.

"I know you don't like me being nosy, but how did it work out in the end?" she asked.

"Well, I told Benjamin off, and I doubt he'll be coming around here anymore. For his sake I actually hope he doesn't. Everything worked out pretty nicely actually" I wasn't giving away too much, and I knew she was dying to pry more, but we both had jobs to do and right then a familiar face walked into the shop. What I hadn't thought of was that now that Dan wasn't upset with me anymore he would probably be coming here as usual again. So when he walked in I was caught a little off guard.

He spotted me immediately and smiled one of those brilliant smiles of his. I couldn't help but blush a little and look down at my shoes before glancing up to find he was still staring at me so I returned his smile.

Someone walked into the shop behind Dan and made a noise in irritation, so Dan decided it was a good time to move. He walked over to the counter and ordered his usual; he kept glancing up at me, and when he had finished ordering he walked over and took a seat at one of the tables in the back of the shop.

I grabbed a cloth to start cleaning off some tables. I walked straight to the back of the shop and started cleaning a table right next to the one Dan was sitting at. My back was to him and I leaned over the table to give Dan a nice view of my butt.

From behind me I heard a whistle which obviously came from Dan as a comment on the view.

I turned around abruptly and leaned against the table I was just cleaning. "Where you checking me out?" I asked feigning offended.

"As a matter of fact I was"

"Good" I stated before stepping closer to him, and leaning down to kiss him.

"I think I'm going to enjoy coming here for coffee even more than I used to" he smiled up at me.

"I think I'm going to enjoy it as well" I admitted.

Behind me I heard Dan's name being called "That's me, I should probably be getting home anyway. I haven't exactly gotten very much done these last few days"

"Ok, I'll text you" I promised as he stood up and walked over to the counter, gathered his order and walked out of the shop.

I reassumed my task of cleaning tables until I detected a presence behind me. I spun around right and found Leah with her mouth open and her hand reaching out in my direction, as if she was about to poke my shoulder and say my name so I would turn around. For a few seconds she stood there silently, it looked like she wanted to say something, but hadn't figured out how to say it yet.

"Yes?" I sad trying to help her along.

"So, you and that guy? It looks like everything definitely worked out pretty nicely"

"Yes" I said wiggling my eyebrows "His name is Dan by the way"

"Ok, that happened pretty fast"

"Well, not actually it's been in the making for quite a while now, ever since he first came into the shop that day actually. It's not like I found a rebound from Benjamin right away. It's just that when Benjamin did what he did, it made me realize that I shouldn't waste any more time on him, and instead concentrate on the guy who was treating me right" I explained.

"Well, he's treating you right that's for sure. I'm happy for you"

"Thank you, you're turning out to be a good friend" I joked giving her another hug.

We went back to our separate jobs. I was gathering quite a group of friends here in London. Surprisingly I always found nice people who I got along with wherever I went, surprising because I was so shy and horrible in social situations.


	6. Chapter five

**Chapter five**

I ended my shift in the normal way, and texted Dan like I had promised. As he had mentioned before Dan had quite a bit of work that he hadn't yet done, because he had spent most of the past few days aimlessly browsing the internet, watching series and eating. We both knew that I was the main reason he hadn't been doing any work, but luckily he didn't blame me.

It's not like a YouTuber had a lot of _work_ to do, but answering comments on videos and watching video responses was a vital part of the interaction with fans. I knew that he had put out a new video the previous weekend, but he now had to plan and film his new video before the end of this weekend. Otherwise there would be hundreds of twelve year old girls lining up with pitchforks outside my house.

That evening when I got home I logged on my laptop and went onto all the usual websites, like always I went onto YouTube to see if anyone I subscribed to had put out a new video. Out of the corner of my eye I saw I had a new message, something I didn't get very often. Obviously I had to check it right away and when I did my jaw literally dropped. It said "_Reply on your comment: Daninsotonfire has replied to your comment_" I always commented on his videos even after I got to know him, but he had never replied to one before.

For some reason this made me really giddy. He was my boyfriend now, but it was still a secret so the fact that he had answered me on YouTube was very fun for me. We would have to pretend that we didn't actually know each other.

Immediately I got an idea, I logged onto Twitter and checked my followers. I only had about fifty, but there was one more today than yesterday. Dan had followed me on twitter as well. I decided to send him a DM.

"_Do you think it's a good idea to make it this obvious that you've got the hots for me? I mean, answering me on YouTube and then following me on Twitter? The fans will know something's up :P_"

Dan was obviously on twitter, not that I thought he wouldn't be, because he answered me back almost right away "_Having this secret relationship is giving me an adrenaline kick, feel like living on the edge you know? But you're right; they'll ship me with anyone_"

At that I laughed, Dan was so funny when he was being sarcastic. I know some people might find it a little annoying, especially since it was hard telling when he was being serious, but I never minded. I always used lots of sarcasm, so having someone who did the same made it easier, he didn't misunderstand me either.

"_Hey, btw I was thinking that I have to try to set Phil up with my friend Ally (the one he was flirting with when you were drunk), if I could convince her to come would you mind having us over this weekend?_"

"_Not at all, Phil's been out of the game for too long, it's about time he started thinking about the opposite sex again (not that I think he's gay or anything, once again phan was never and will never be real), Phil won't say no anyway, he's too nice_"

So far my plan was going well, now I just had to convince Ally to come with me. I felt like I had accomplished something.

I decided to tweet about the fact that Dan followed me, this secret relationship with Dan was giving me an adrenaline kick as well (it would probably wear off as well, but it would be fun while it lasted).

"_Oh my goodness, Danisnotonfire just followed me, why? He must be in love with me or something!_" my followers, not that I had a lot of them, didn't usually know me as a really intense fan, but I wanted to sound like one just this once, ironically.

A few minutes later my amount of followers almost doubled. The phandome was amazing that way some times.

The rest of the night I didn't do much out of the normal; I just ate, sat on the internet and fell asleep when I got tired.


	7. Chapter six

**Chapter six**

Friday was my last day of work before the weekend; I hoped Ally had the same shift as me, so we could talk.

I walked into the back room of the shop and breathed in the familiar smell of roasted coffee and heard the sound of chatter from the front of the shop beyond. I took off my jacket and tied my apron around my waist, when I walked into the shop I immediately scanned the room and found Ally by the coffee machine.

She didn't notice me coming into the room a few meters away from her. When I walked over she had humming the tune of a song I didn't recognize.

"Hey Ally" I started.

She looked over her shoulder and saw me standing behind her "Hey Sarah, didn't know we had the same shift today"

"Neither did I, I really need to talk to Lucy about these unforeseen, inconvenient coincidences" I teased.

"Yeah, I hate working with you so much" her sarcasm wasn't as good as mine, but she tried.

"Speaking of work, I should probably do some"

"Go ahead, don't let me stop you"

It wasn't till our lunch break that we talked again, by then I had come up with a plan and was ready to set it into action. Ally bought some lunch from the shop and I as usual took my homemade lunch from my bag, we walked out in the alley behind the shop together and started eating.

"So, did you ever talk to Dan?" she was making this too easy for me.

"Oh, that's right, I almost forgot, you need to be updated. So much has happened since we last spoke that it kind of feels like it's been longer than it has. I was going to update you, but it's only been two days"

"So? Come on, tell me. Now I'm all excited" she looked like she was bursting.

"How much do you know again?" I asked trying to find out where to start my story.

"Well I know Benjamin kissed you, you made out with Dan and then that you were confused and were going to talk to them both"

"Ok, so I guess I'll start on Wednesday then. Well, I was working and I told Benjamin to meet me out back after my shift, but I had to work a little late because some people were running late for their shifts. So when I got out back I found him making out with some girl who happened to be Leah" I paused for dramatic effect and marveled in Ally's expression of complete surprise, awe and curiosity "So" I continued "I had seriously been thinking about forgiving Benjamin, because I'm an idiot, and I thought we might have a chance. Obviously when I saw him basically 'cheating' on me again I was just done. Leah was really upset and I just forgave her right away because I knew that it wasn't her fault, it was the jackass Benjamin's fault. Then I had a shouting match with him and I basically told him I never wanted to see him ever again and I think this time he'll actually leave me alone"

"Wow, that's a lot of information to take inn, so just to be clear Benjamin is officially out of your life now right?" she asked.

"Definitely, but there's more"

"There's more? Well don't just stand there, tell me" she insisted.

"Ok, ok" so I told her about going to Dan's and apologizing for being an idiot, and making up with him.

"So, did anything happen? Anything interesting that is" she was all worked up now.

"Well, to be completely honest later that night we proceeded to have sex and now we're basically a couple" I admitted.

At that Ally screeched, leapt up from where she had been sitting and paying complete attention, and embraced me tightly.

"Congratulations you two, and may I just say, finally?!"

"Thank you, it's actually been really good, he's so sweet"

"He seems like the type. Now, tell me all the details" she turned completely serious.

"No way" I could see she was about to protest "All I can tell you is; it was really good, much better than the last time. I've also found out that I'm really good at teasing him" a broad smile lit up my face just thinking about Dan.

"Ok, that's all I need" she decided sticking her tongue out cheekily at me.

"Well, now that we've got my 'love life' sorted out do you want to come over to Dan and Phil's place this weekend and hang out?"

"Sure, sounds good" Ally said, a little too excited.

"Oh, that would be ok with you? You wouldn't mind seeing Phil again would you?" I teased.

"Shut up!" she exclaimed.


	8. Chapter seven

**Chapter seven**

Ally was usually the type to be quite subtle about her feelings, but the rest of our shift she was acting all giddy and excited. I knew Ally and Phil had been flirting a lot when I introduced them, but I had no idea she was so into him. I guess I couldn't blame her. She kept smiling all the way till we parted after the end of our shift.

I walked in my apartment door and went right to the internet, I knew I had some e-mails to answer and I had to check how much money was left in my bank account. Basically, I had to do grownup stuff. By the time I was done it was getting close to dinner time. I didn't really feel like starting to kook, but luckily I was saved by my lovely boyfriend. When I said "boyfriend" I got this kind of tingly feeling, like there's someone out there who I know really, truly likes me because they've committed themselves to me.

Anyway, Dan saved me by inviting me out to dinner. I happily accepted and went to my bedroom to change. Dan hadn't told me where we were going and we probably weren't going somewhere fancy, but I figured that something a little nicer than my jeans, tank top and hoodie would be appropriate for any situation.

As always the amount of options was daunting, I really did have a lot of clothes. In the end I settled for a flowy black top tucked into a high waisted turquoise skirt on top of grey leggings and dark grey boots, and a light grey cardigan that reached a little above the hem of my skirt.

Dan was set to arrive at my apartment at 5:30, and by the time I was done changing I had only five minutes to spare. Soon I heard the familiar buzz from my phone telling me that I had a new message.

"I'm there in 2 minutes, meet me outside"

I wrapped my jacked around myself, threw my phone, keys and wallet into a small purse which I slung over my shoulder, before heading out my door. I reached the pavement outside my building and looked from side to side down the road. About thirty meters (98 feet) down the pavement I saw a dark, tall figure coming toward me. It had to be Dan, in his usual somber attire.

He walked up to me and embraced me in a big hug kissing me on the top of my head.

When he let go of me I asked "So, where are you taking me?"

"It's a surprise" he smiled.

"Ok, I guess it'll be a surprise then"

Dan grabbed my hand, intertwining our fingers and led me down the street the opposite way from where he came from. We didn't get a cab, so the place we were going couldn't be that far away.

After ten minutes of walking I was getting a tiny bit impatient. "Are we there yet?" I asked for about the millionth time.

"Would you stop asking and just be patient?" Dan asked feigning irritated; I could tell he was enjoying making me squirm.

I stopped abruptly and turned to him "Make me" I dared.

"I don't think you really want to do that Sarah"

"Oh, now you're threatening me huh? Why not? What're you going to do about it?" I asked egging him on.

He took a step towards me "Take a wild guess" he breathed. My breath caught for a second.

"You know I hate guessing, why don't you just tell me?"

"Because I don't actually know what I'd do" he admitted defeated.

"Hah! That's what I thought" I exclaimed triumphantly.

"Well, actually I did have one idea" he said in a low voice.

"What was that? You had an idea? Well, what was it?"

"I don't want to say" he looked down at his shoes and I saw a slight blush on his cheeks.

"No?" I asked "It wasn't something like you were thinking of making me so wet that I would have to give in to whatever you told me to do?" Dan looked up at me with a surprised expression across his face, his mouth hanging a bit open "Did I guess right? I thought so" I stepped closer to him again "because that's what I was thinking too"

I could barely believe that I was actually saying what I was saying, I had never been the forward type, but something about Dan got me so worked up. Now that we were actually a couple I didn't feel too awkward actually telling him what I was thinking, I was probably blushing furiously at the moment though. Dan had still not said anything in reply so I just kept on going. I was pulling him along after me as I talked.

"You know it doesn't work that way. Girls aren't sex crazed animals like boys, and even if that did work, I'd just turn it right back around and make it slap you in the face. Or rather the genitals. So in the end it wouldn't really work out for you" I was kind of babbling now, but I just had to finish my train of thought "I don't actually know why I'm telling you this, you see this is what actually goes on in my head, but I usually keep it to myself. As you know I'm not really the forward type, but we girls actually think about sex almost as much as guys do, we just keep it inside in fear that guys won't reciprocate our feelings"

That's when I realized what I'd just said "Oh goodness, did I really just say that?" I asked. I turned to Dan fearing that he'd be looking at me in the most baffled and weirded out way.

To my surprise all I found was a giant beaming smile and a shy gleam in his eyes. He leaned in abruptly and trapped me in the most passionate and stomach churning kiss I think I've ever been given.

When he released me we were both out of breath.

He was the first to speak "I love it when you're so honest, it turns me on"

**[A/N]: Hey, new chapter, never done one of these autors notes on my stories here. My amazing reader and now hopefully friend missionlionheart has been lovely and reviewed every chapter so far (her story "it all started with a bruised nose" is also amazing and you should go check that out)! So, if you liked the chapter, or if you didn't please let me know, it would be very nice to get some feedback.**


	9. Chapter eight

**Chapter eight**

I threw my arms around Dan's neck and hugged him tight. I buried my face in his chest and whispered only loud enough for him to hear "You're too perfect"

"No I'm not" he always denied every compliment I gave him.

"Maybe you're not, but you're perfect for me" I loosened my grip around his neck so I was looking up into his eyes.

"Well I can't deny that, you're clearly crazy about me" he teased.

I stuck my tongue out at him and grabbed his hand signaling for him to keep leading the way.

We walked for about another minute.

"Are we there yet" I asked, I was expecting Dan to either blow up or laugh in my face.

Instead he tuned to me calmly and answered "Actually, we are" and with a hand motion directed my attention to the building we were standing directly in front of.

We were stood in front of a quaint looking door in between other shops and entrances, it blended into its surroundings, but at the same time it stood out because of its design. It had a rustic feel to it and was more sunken into the building then the other doors around it.

Dan placed a hand on my back and led me forward. We walked through the door and entered a narrow hall, after a few steps there was another door which was held open against the wall. Through that doorway the restaurant opened up and it was much bigger than it had appeared from the outside. Booths lined the walls, tables where spread out around the middle of the room and the lighting was quite dim, but not dim enough that one would have a hard time seeing the people one was dining with. There was a bar against the one wall and the hostess was stood right next to the door behind her little podium.

"Welcome" she greeted us cheerily "Table for two?"

"Yes please" Dan answered from behind me.

The hostess led us to a booth at the back. Dan and I sat down across from each other at the table which had a lit candle and a fake rose in a vase placed in the middle. She handed us menus and left us telling us a server would be over shortly.

A few moments later a waiter who looked about our age came over, introduced himself as Luke and asked what we wanted to drink. He was quite tall, lanky and had short blond hair which was spiked at the front. We both ordered just water and Luke left us to decide on what food to order.

I read through the menu, I always had trouble deciding what to order.

Luke came back with our waters and smiled before leaving us again.

"Humpf" I heard Dan scoff.

"What?" I asked confused.

"He was smiling at you a little too brightly" he answered. It took me a second to realize what he meant by that.

"Are you jealous? Don't worry about it Dan, I didn't even notice"

"I still don't like it"

I reached over the table and hit him playfully in the arm "So, do you have any idea of what to order?"

"The spaghetti here is really good"

"I hate eating spaghetti at restaurants, I feel so unsophisticated. I think I'll have the salmon" I decided.

"Suit yourself"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I'm just not very fond of cooked salmon, that's all"

"Well, it happens to be one of my favorite foods"

Luke came over right then and Dan who had opened his mouth to say something closed it again and stayed silent. Luke asked us what we wanted to order and we both gave him our orders, one of us in a noticeably more grumpy way then the other. Once again we were left alone.

"That time I actually noticed it, but only because you pointed it out to me"

Dan scoffed for the second time "See, I told you"

We sat in silence for a while; me kind of fed up with Dan and him still fretting about it. After a few minutes Dan spoke again.

"Ok, I'm sorry I was just being jealous. You didn't even notice"

"No, I didn't, I can assure you that you have nothing to worry about" I said finding his feet under the table and running my foot up the inside of his leg. "Thank you for apologizing"

"No problem, I'm trying to start this relationship by being a good boyfriend"

"So far, so good" he reached over and took my hand in his and squeezed it lightly then started rubbing circles on the back of it. We talked comfortably for a little while holding hands across the table.

Luke brought us our food; Dan didn't give him any looks even though he clearly didn't mind looking me up and down. It was weird, I never used to get this sort of attention from guys, but now it seemed to be coming from all directions. Before I would have noticed if a guy was looking at me right away, but I really only cared about Dan lately. I guess now that I didn't care as much guys noticed that I was above it and wanted my attention.

The food was amazing; I always liked salmon. Dan fed me some of his spaghetti which was delicious, and I made him try some of my fish as well. He insisted that he would never like cooked salmon, but I was determined to convert him. We finished our meal and sat talking for a while, Dan suggested we go somewhere else for desert, but I had a better idea.

As always I wanted to order the chocolate cake and when Luke brought it over to our table I slid in next to Dan. We shared the chocolaty goodness in the cutest, most cheesily romantic way possible. I swung my legs across Dan's thighs and he fed me and when I got some of the chocolate sauce on the side of my mouth he kissed it away.


	10. Chapter nine

**Chapter nine**

Dan and I walked out of the restaurant arm in arm both of us all giggly.

"We sure showed him" I exclaimed as we walked down the street.

"Yeah, he definitely knows that he can't have you"

"Nope, I'm taken"

"Amen to that" Dan agreed.

"It's so fun to be able to say that I have a boyfriend now, I haven't been able to say that for a while. It was fun the first time, but now I can even say 'I'm dating Dan Howell, the famous internet cult leader'" I teased.

"Not a whole lot of people can say that you know"

"I hope there's only one person who can say that actually" I looked at Dan questioningly.

"Yeah, like I would be able to date more than one person at a time. It's a miracle that I'm even able to get one girlfriend, how on earth would I be able to find another girl crazy enough to want to date me. You know how long it is since I was able to call someone my girlfriend"

"You have a point, I am pretty crazy. Aren't you lucky?"

"Yes I am, I really am" Dan said genuinely and looked deep into my eyes.

I broke the eye contact and looked down at the pavement.

"Hey" Dan said making me look up at him again "I mean it you know. You're amazing" he gestured to me, waiving a hand up and down my body "and I really am lucky to have you" I smiled and so did Dan. I stood up on my toes and gave him a kiss on the cheek. We kept walking, I didn't really need to say anything, and he knew I appreciated his words.

After walking for a few minutes in silence we came to my apartment building. We stopped outside and turned toward each other.

"Wanna come up?" I asked.

"I'd love to" he replied eagerly.

Together we walked the flights of stairs to my flat where we paused so I could unlock the door. I felt Dan's body press up against me as I fiddled with the key in the lock, his breath on my neck sent shivers down my spine.

"Stop doing that" I exclaimed as I was finally able to turn the key and unlocking the door.

"Doing what?" Dan asked innocently.

"Turning me on when I'm trying to do something else" I explained feigning exasperated. I stepped aside and let Dan walk in to the apartment.

"I'm sorry, it's not my fault everything I do turns you on so much"

"Not everything you do turns me on" I protested as I took off my jacket and shoes.

"Oh, really? Wasn't that basically what you admitted earlier when we were walking to the restaurant?" Dan asked teasingly.

"No, I admitted that I think about sex almost as much as you do, that I associate everything I see and hear with sex, just like you. Not that everything you do turns me on" I argued walking with Dan through the door to the kitchen.

"Should we maybe test that out?" Dan asked suggestively.

"Oh, shut up" I said hitting him quite hard "maybe later" I mumbled under my breath.

"What?" Dan asked.

"Nothing. You want some tea?" I offered walking over to the 'kettle'.

"Sure" so I filled some new water in the 'kettle' and let it boil while I got out two mugs and spoons, handed Dan my selection of tea so he could choose, got out some hot chocolate mix for myself and poured it into my mug.

The 'kettle' made a loud noise indicating that the water was finished heating up, so I picked it up and filled Dan's mug, he had already chosen what type of tea he wanted and put the teabag in his mug. Then I poured a small amount into my own mug before getting out some lactose free milk and filling the rest of my mug with that and then stirring.

Dan and I took our respective hot beverages and headed to the living room area. We sat down on the couch for a bit of TV watching.

We watched in silence and both eventually finished drinking. I could tell Dan was getting restless beside me and his hand which was on my shoulder started massaging my neck and going underneath my top. Then he started fiddling with my bra strap.

"Goodness are you that eager?" I mumbled.

"As a matter of fact, yes" Dan whispered in my ear. He knew what he was doing, and he was doing it well. "And I also want to test out that theory"

"Shouldn't have said that" I mused.

"Why not?"

"Now all I'm going to want to do is prove you wrong" I explained.

"No you don't" he retorted.

"Yes I do" I argued convincingly.

Dan removed his arm from around my shoulder so he could take of his shirt. Darn! 'Look away' I told myself 'if you don't look, you can imagine it's not there'. My gaze fixed more intensely on the TV screen. I could feel from his weight on the couch that he had leant back and felt his hand start rubbing the side of my neck.

Instinctively I leant into his touch; this earned me a satisfied chuckle from Dan. Darn! I flinched away, but wasn't able to make it very convincing.

"Just give up" Dan interrupted my thoughts.

I kept staring ahead stoically. Dan's hand started fiddling with the zipper at the side of my skirt. I turned and slapped his hands away, but that was my fatal mistake. Turning meant my eyes followed in the direction in which I turned, and since I turned toward Dan my eyes automatically found his bare upper body.

"Shoot" I muttered before quickly turning back to face the TV.

"What was that?" Dan asked amused.

"Nothing" I insisted.

"Never mind then" Dan said placing his hand on the small of my back now. But again his hand started to wander where it shouldn't go. Like for example fiddling with my bra clasp under my shirt. Suddenly I felt a release of pressure around my torso; I held around my breasts protectively and now turned fully toward Dan with a shocked and disapproving look on my face.

"What? Too far?" he asked scared, dropping his hand.

"Yes" I answered. Dan looked down into his lap shamefully and played with his fingers nervously.

"I'm sorry" he managed, he looked very upset.

"Don't be. You won" I admitted before pushing him back into the couch with my hands on his shoulders and attacking his lips.

He was caught by surprise, but it didn't take long before he returned the kiss. He placed a hand on my back and laid me down on the couch so he was on top of me. For a few minutes we laid there making out, I had a very nice and soft couch.

I pushed Dan away from me slightly so his lips couldn't touch mine. "Maybe we should take this to the bedroom" I suggested.

"I agree" he said getting of me and helping me up. I took his hand and lead him through the hallway.

"So, you still worried about that waiter smiling at me too much?" I teased as we entered my bedroom.

"I might need a little more convincing" Dan teased back closing the door behind us and joining me at my bed.

"I don't think that would be too much of an inconvenience" I decided reaching down to the eminent bulge in his tight black jeans.

.

**[A/N]: Hey again, new chapter. Thank you for all the views and stuff, but please if you have any comment or anything to say about the story please review! I really want to know what you guys think! :D**


	11. Chapter ten

**Chapter ten**

I woke up rubbing my eyes with my hands and yawning, and then I turned over in my bed and realized that Dan was not beside me. Not that I was that used to waking up nest to Dan, but I was usually the type to remember events form the night before the second I woke up. I didn't think falling asleep next to my boyfriend was something my mind would make up.

The bed was warm, but I knew I should get up so I begrudgingly pushed the blanket to the side, swung my legs off the side of the bed and stood up. Again I yawned and stretched out my arms which felt stiff after laying in the same position for so long.

Usually I'd just throw a sweatshirt on, but since I hadn't worn any pajamas to bed and the apartment was starting to get colder in the mornings I went to my closet and got my fuzzy bathrobe to wrap around myself. My furry slippers were as always next to my bed and I slipped those on for extra warmth.

Now that I was all bundled up I walked down the hallway in search of my boyfriend. I found Dan in the kitchen in front of the stove. There was a delicious smell in the air, the smell of food cooking.

Sensing my presence Dan looked up "Good morning" he smiled.

"Good morning" I came over and kissed him softly "Watcha cookin?"

"Just some pancakes for my beautiful girlfriend"

"Just some pancakes huh? Dan the words just and pancakes can't be in the same sentence together" I corrected.

"A simple thank you would have done fine"

I stuck my tongue out at him "Thank you. You know that's what I meant". I walked around the kitchen gathering plates, cups and cutlery. "You want some coffee?" I asked.

"Sure, thank you" Dan answered. I started the coffee maker and brought the plates and cutlery out to the dining room and set the table.

"Sarah, you want to flip one?" Dan called from the kitchen.

I rushed back in "Sure"

"Ok, come here. Have you flipped pancakes before?"

"Of course I have. Give me that pan" I replied shoving him out of my way. Dan backed off giving me space. I prepared the pancake at the edge of the pan, readied myself and though the pancake. It did a perfect flip and landed back in the pan. "Wooh" I gave a loud battle cry. I placed the pan back on the burner and turned to Dan with a smug look.

"I'm impressed"

"You would be"

"Come here" Dan insisted pulling me closer buy the knot in the fuzzy rope tied around my waist holding my bathrobe around me. He wrapped his arms around me and kissed my forehead. We separated and Dan went back to the cooking while I perched on top of one of the cabinets and kept the conversation going.

"Last one" Dan announced as he placed the last pancake on the heaping pile. I gathered the plate in both hands and carried it ceremoniously out to the table placing it between our plates. Dan brought out the jam and sugar and we both sat down.

"Mmm, these were really good" I complimented.

"Thanks" Dan said, his mouth full of pancakes so it came out more like 'Manshk'

We ate for a while, talking and laughing before I heard a loud noise from my room indicating that I had gotten a message. I ran to see who was trying to get a hold of me.

The message was from Ally "_I can't make it today, busy_" was all it said, that wasn't very descriptive. I wondered why she was being so vague.

"_That's too bad, I'll let the boys know_" I sent back.

"Who was it?" Dan asked when I came back out to the living room.

"It was Ally, she can't make it today"

"Oh, that's too bad. Why not?"

"I don't know, she just said she was busy. It's weird actually because when I talked to her yesterday she seemed really excited" I mused.

"Yeah, Phil was too. I guess it's just the three of us then" Dan concluded, "I'll send Phil a text" Dan went to get his phone, and then we both sat down again and continued eating. The conversation was a little less lighthearted now. I was still confused by Ally's mixed messages, either something had just come up, which sometimes happens, or she was hiding something.

We finished eating and started getting ready to go out. Dan took a shower and came out dripping wet with only a towel wrapped around his waist which obviously meant we had to have a minnie make out session because I was so turned on. Soon we were ready to go and left the apartment. We walked to Dan and Phil's flat hand in hand, it was quite cold so we were huddled up together to share each other's warmth.

Phil greeted us from somewhere in the flat when we entered.

"Hey" I greeted back as I took off my jacket and shoes, then we climbed the stairs and found Phil in the lounge. "I guess it's just going to be the three of today then" I announced.

"Yeah" Phil said sounding a little bit disappointed.

"There's a new movie that just came out, you guys want to go see it?" Dan asked.

"As long as you guys don't end up making out throughout the whole thing and I feel like a complete third wheel" Phil agreed.

"I promise that won't happen" I assured him.

Together we walked to the movie theatre; there was one in walking distance from Dan and Phil's apartment. I walked between Dan and Phil and once again felt like a total midget. We bought tickets and popcorn and sat down in the lobby of the theatre to wait for the movie to start.

"Did Ally say why she couldn't come?" Phil asked cautiously. I could tell he had been a little hurt by her sudden cancelation.

"No, she didn't. And the weird part is that when I talked to her yesterday she was really excited" I said in hope of cheering him up a little.

"Oh, that is kinda weird" Phil agreed, but he didn't sound too convinced.

There wasn't much of a wait before the movie and soon we were ushered into the theatre. It was an action comedy and by the end the whole theater was laughing. Dan and I didn't break our agreement with Phil, but Dan's arm rested possessively around my shoulders throughout the movie.


	12. Chapter eleven

**Chapter eleven**

On the way home we all talked about the movie and our favorite scenes. All three of us seemed to have a lot of the same humor, and we probably laughed more while recapping the movie then during the actual thing.

We decided to go for lunch at a small bakery about a block away from Dan and Phil's flat. They had sandwiches, pastries, a salad bar, and all sorts of drinks. I decided on a sandwich, so did Phil, and Dan got a salad.

"Since when did you become mister healthy?" I asked Dan amused.

"Since I started actually caring about this working out stuff" Dan replied.

"Oh, and what about the twenty pancakes you had this morning? Your digestive system's just going to ignore those?" I teased.

"It wasn't twenty, but no, and that's another reason, I have to counteract those" he explained pointing his fork at me.

"Or since he got a girlfriend and actually started caring about how he looked" Phil shot in in an offhand sort of way. I figured Phil didn't get to make fun of Dan very often, so he was taking this new opportunity with great satisfaction.

"Humpf" Dan huffed disapprovingly.

"Is that so?" I asked amused "Have I made you self-conscious Daniel?"

"He's always been self-conscious, but he's pretty good at covering up. You and I are about the only people who get to see this guy without a shirt on unless he's going swimming. Now I don't really matter that much, you on the other hand do. Plus, I'm not the one he's trying to get to sleep with him" Phil interjected before Dan had a chance to answer for himself.

This comment brought on a giggle from me and another huff from Dan.

"Well, you're not denying it" I directed my statement at Dan who was now concentrating very intensely on his salad.

"No, I'm not ok? He's hit the nail basically right on the head" he admitted.

"We're talking about this later ok?" I asked, but I didn't really ask, it was more of a "We're talking about this later whether you like it or not".

Dan grunted a halfhearted "Fine" and we all continued eating in silence. Since there was no conversation going on I let my thoughts wander free. Suddenly I remembered something I had forgotten to do.

"Oh my goodness" I exclaimed "I totally forgot"

"What?" Dan and Phil asked at the same time, both of them looking up at me with curious expressions.

"I have to go talk to Anna; she must be sitting there not knowing what's going on. She was strongly in your favor as well" I explained motioning to Dan "she'll be thrilled"

"I'm glad. Have you talked to all of your friends about us?" Dan asked uncertainly.

"Of course I have, that's what friends are for. I was so confused and everything I really needed my friends, plus I wanted their opinions"

"Out of curiosity, were there any of them who were on Benjamin's side?"

"Nope, I mean they all understood what I was going through, because of the history we had, but they all seemed to take your side"

"You have some very smart friends" he complimented.

"I do, don't I? Anyway, I better go do that, as I said she'll be thrilled" I said getting up, giving Dan a peck on the lips, gathering my jacket, leaving the bakery and heading in the direction of my apartment.

I burst in the door, hung my jacket up, slipped off my shoes and dived into my purse to find my phone. I had Anna on speed dial, so all I had to do was press 5 and then call. I waited while it rang; she picked up on the fourth ring.

"Hey, sorry, I almost didn't hear it then" Anna's usual cheery, but a little flustered voice flowed down the line.

"Hey" I greeted back "What's up?"

"Nothing much" she sighed "What's up there, I haven't heard from you since Tuesday, what happened with Benjamin, and have you talked to Dan yet?"

"Well, here's the thing. A lot of things happened on Wednesday" I explained, but I didn't continue, I was going to see how long I could draw it out.

"Don't just say that, come on; you've got to tell me!" Anna insisted, getting impatient.

"I'm kidding; of course I'm going to tell you, that's why I called. I just like to torture you" so I told her about my confrontation with Benjamin, and how he was not out of my life, and then I told her about that night when I explained everything to Dan and we got together.

"Wow, that's amazing babe. How's the relationship been going so far then?"

"It's been great, he's amazing, a bit jealous some times, but that's just good for my ego, so it's not really a problem. We've gone out and stayed inn, I love the start of relationships when everything's new and exciting. And I must admit, the sex is good" you could clearly hear the excitement in my voice. It wasn't easy to hide, and it was really true.

"Well, that's always good. That definitely happened faster than the last time" she teased.

"Hey, it's not like we just met either. The last time was my first time, now I'm older, he's older, I think I like him more than I ever liked Benjamin and we were pretty close quite a few times when Benjamin and I were together before we went all the way" I defended.

"That's a good defense you have, but honestly I have no problem with you having sex, really. You know I'm just teasing. I completely agree with you, you're definitely more mature, I don't know how that happened so fast, but it obviously has"

"See this is why I love you Anna. We always agree, and you always understand me. Actually, now that I think about it, I think maybe Benjamin slowed down my maturing. I mean it does seem logical, and there is lots of evidence of it"

"I love you too, I know, we always agree. It sounds plausible to me. In any case, I'm happy for you babe" she reinforced.

"Thanks. But I've been taking up the spotlight for a while now, and you know how I hate that. How are _you _doing and what about _your_ relationship?"

"I'm doing very well. Classes are exhausting, but they're also getting more interesting. And when it comes to the relationship there's nothing new really, we're doing just as well as we've been doing for a while now. I mean the distance is very hard, but you know he comes to visit as much as possible and I travel home whenever I can" Anna studied in Trondheim, a city about halfway north in Norway at a university called NTNU, while Kristopher, her boyfriend, studied at the university of Oslo, and we had all grown up right outside of the capital.

"I can't imagine, but I'm really sorry that it's hard for you. Hey, didn't you guys just have your three year anniversary though?"

"Yeah about a week and a half ago, he sent flowers and a card, it was really sweet"

"Naw, he's always been so romantic"

"I know, I love it" she paused for a little bit "I love him" she admitted.

"Really?" I asked excitedly "Have you both said it?"

You might think of the words 'I love you' as three ordinary words that you say to all your friends and family who matter to you, but Anna had never been like that. She had never thrown those words around; to her they were sacred and reserved for that one person, 'the one' if you will.

"Yeah, we have. It's amazing Sarah. You know how skeptical I am to the world"

"I know"

"I never really thought I'd find him, but he's been there now for the last three years and I can't imagine there's anyone else, if you know what I mean?"

"I know exactly what you mean darling. You're in love, that's amazing news. I always knew it would be the two of you"


	13. Chapter twelve

**Chapter twelve**

I had decided to call Dan on Sunday; we had to talk about him feeling like he needed to be healthier because I was his girlfriend. I understood that he wanted to look good for me, but I already thought he looked good and I didn't want him to feel like he needed to do anything about his body to keep me. I didn't have any reason to leave him.

Dan didn't pick up. I guessed he must be busy so I figured I'd call him again later.

That's when I heard a knock on my door. It was quite early in the day, so I wondered who it could be; most people I knew would probably call first.

Valery was standing there waiting patiently when I opened the door.

"Hey Valery"

"Hello neighbor"

"What brings you over here" I asked.

"You owe me an update and I want you to meet someone"

"Sure, come in"

"No, I already have company. Get your keys and come on over" she watched as I gathered my keys and ushered me out of my apartment, I barely had a chance to lock the door before she dragged me down the hall. She was the unconventional type.

I had never been inside Valery's apartment before. In the general layout it was basically identical to mine, but when it came to furniture and decoration it was the direct opposite. She was into the punk style with bright colors, but it was very tasteful with accent walls and pops of different colors everywhere to appropriate degrees.

"Wow, I love the design of this place" I awed as I walked through her hallway and into the living room.

"Thanks, I love it too" she admitted.

"Hopefully you do, you're the one who's going to live here. So, who's this person you want me to meet?"

"Right to the point as always" she teased "Marcus"

A man about my height, with short dark brown hair which was stylishly spiked upward in the front, stood up from the couch. He wore black pants and a soft beige shirt with a few buttons at the neck which was just tight enough to show off his slightly muscular physique.

He walked over and extended his hand "Hello, my name is Marcus Edward Montgomery Junior, but just call me Marcus" he greeted me in a heavily British accent. Even though I had lived in London for over two months now I had still not gotten used to the British' charming way of speaking.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Sarah" I introduced myself.

"Oh, I know, Valery has told me about you; it's very nice to meet you too"

I shot Valery a look "Am I the main topic of conversation at your table when you have all your friends, whom I don't know, around for dinner?" I asked critically.

"Of course not, I haven't told him anything personal either. I just told him about you in general because I wanted you to meet" she defended "Stop making her feel uncomfortable Marcus"

"Who me?" he asked feigning offended "You're the one who's making her feel uncomfortable. I'm merely being polite" he added offering me an arm, which I took and he lead me over to the couch where we sat down.

We heard an over exaggerated sigh from Valery before she joined us in a chair opposite the couch.

"I heard there was some update Valery was waiting for from you" Marcus introduced the subject.

"Yeah, tell us everything. I've barely seen you since Sunday, were you just going to leave me completely in the dark? I need to know what happened!" Valery insisted.

"Ok, ok, no need to get dramatic. I was planning on telling you, but I haven't really had a lot of time. I didn't even have time to update my best friend Anna from Norway before last night" then I recapped everything that had happened in the last week for the third time. The two of them were completely engrossed in the story from the very start and pressed me to spill every detail.

"Oh my goodness, he sounds like a marvelous boyfriend. Can I borrow him from you some time?" Marcus asked in bewilderment. I must have looked quite confused because soon Valery chimed inn to explain.

"Marcus is gay Sarah"

"Ah, that explains quite a bit"

"I'm sorry, I'm not used to meeting new people who don't know about my sexual orientation from before or who are not able to guess by the way I act"

"No, that's ok; I know exactly what you mean. It's like, should I go around announcing it to everyone I meet or should I not? But if I don't tell them right away will they think I've been trying to hide it from them when they figure it out or when I eventually tell them. It's not that I wouldn't have guess it if we had spent some more time together I just don't like making assumptions about people before I've gotten to know them better" I confessed.

"That's completely fine by me, it's incredible how you were able to put that into words, because that's always what I struggle with, but I'm never quite able to explain it" Marcus embraced me in a friendly hug.

"I seem to be gaining more and more gay friends by the minute, it's like you guys are drawn to me" I teased and we all laughed.

"Hey, it's a little past lunch time, but do you guys want something to eat?" Valery offered.

We went to the kitchen and Valery found some light food that we stood around the room eating while leaning against cabinets and countertops. The three of us got along very well, I soon found myself laughing at inside jokes and teasing the others as if I had been friends with them my whole life.

It was getting pretty late, and dinner time was fast approaching. We decided to split up and all head home.

My apartment seemed weirdly empty and silent after spending a whole day full of conversation and laughter in a very similar space. I made myself some easy food and sat down to enjoy it at my dining table. In the corner of the room I noticed my phone was blinking, and when I checked it I saw that I had three missed calls from Dan and a message from him asking why I wasn't picking up. I had completely forgotten that I had called Dan that morning.

This was not the time to put it off, so I dialed Dan's number and waited for him to pick up. On the second ring a flustered Dan asked in a panicked voice "Sarah?"

"It's me, there's no need to be worried"

"Yeah, there is. I was worried half to death. Where were you and why didn't you pick up?"

"I was out; this morning my neighbor Valery basically dragged me out of my apartment. I completely forgot about bringing my phone. She wanted me to meet this guy and she was so eager I didn't have time to think about anything"

"Were you there all day?" Dan questioned.

"Yes, why would I lie to you?"

"I never said that you lied to me" Dan insisted.

"No, but I could hear it in your voice. There's no need to be skeptical"

"I know, I was just really scared for you"

"Ok, if that's all it is" I wasn't totally convinced, but I didn't want to argue.

"So, who's this neighbor of yours and this guy she wanted you to meet?"

"Her name's Valery, she helped me a lot last week when you stormed out of my apartment on Sunday. I mean I was in tears and she was just there to comfort me, so she wanted to know how things turned out"

"I'm really sorry about that, I didn't know you were that upset about it"

"We were both upset, but it doesn't matter anymore, we're together now, so we really don't have to dwell about the past, let's just concentrate on now"

"I agree. So, what about that guy Valery wanted you to meet?" he seemed quite interested since he kept asking the same question.

"Marcus, he's a really nice guy. She just thought we'd get along and we did. He's hilarious and so sassy, and we just clicked"

"I see" Dan grumbled.

"Oh Dan, it's not like that at all" I protested, he obviously thought there might be something going on between us, but how could there be?

"Ok, I believe you. What was it you called me about this morning though?" I could hear that he didn't, but again I didn't want to argue, so instead of commenting I just answered the question.

"I was going to talk to you about Phil's comment yesterday. About you feeling like you needed to do something about the way you look"

"Oh, that. Phil was just joking, I'm fine. Really, there's nothing to talk about" Dan brushed it off.

"Are you sure?" I wasn't convinced, he seemed rushed.

"Yeah, yeah, everything's fine. Sarah actually I have to get going right now, Phil's calling. We'll talk later ok?" he said hurriedly.

"Sure, bye" I said, but he had already hung up. Something was up, but I didn't understand what or why.

**Dan's POV**

"Are you sure?" Sarah asked, she didn't sound convinced, I didn't blame her.

"Yeah, yeah, everything's fine" I didn't want to talk about this "Sarah actually I have to get going right now, Phil's calling. We'll talk later ok?" and then I hung up before she got to say anything more. I slipped my phone into my pocket, the silence in the empty apartment resumed and I was all alone once more.

I sat back down on my bed, I reached for my computer, but changed my mind and instead I just sat in silence. One thought circled in my head and I wasn't able to push it away 'She's going to find someone better' and an evil voice chimed in 'She already has'.


	14. Chapter thirteen

**Chapter thirteen**

I tried calling Dan later that evening, but he didn't pick up. He had said we would talk later, but obviously that wasn't going to happen. He seemed very distracted when we did talk and I was slowly convincing myself that there was something up with him.

All the warning lights were lighting up. He kept asking me about what I had been doing, he could have just been interested, but it seemed more like he was obsessing over it. Not because he had been was worried about my safety, even though I knew he was, but like he was worried I was ignoring or forgetting him for some reason. It seemed like he had tried to brush off the subject of Phil's comment in an offhand kind of way, but his excuse didn't sound genuine. So, it seemed more like he was trying to dodge it, probably because there was actually something to discuss. Then there was the fact that he seemed very eager to get out of the whole conversation after he had not-so-smoothly avoided the matter of Phil's comment.

In addition to all this I knew from the way he had said it and just the way he thought in general, that he didn't actually "believe me" that there was nothing going on between Marcus and I. Obviously that was pretty impossible because the only person I wanted to be with was Dan and for the obvious reason that Marcus was gay, but Dan didn't know that and he hadn't given me a chance to explain either.

By the next morning I was convinced that it was true what Phil had said, that Dan thought there was something going on between Marcus and I, and that Dan was most likely going to try to avoid me because he probably thought he was about to lose me, and because instead of facing his problems he probably wanted to barricade himself in his own cave of self-pity and loneliness like the last time.

Ugh! How could you like a guy so much and at the same time be irritated by everything he did?

I would have called Dan that morning, but I had to get up early to go to work and I doubted that he would be awake that early. Getting up wasn't a struggle, but I was quite distracted because of all the thoughts flying around in my brain overanalyzing the situation with Dan. That was until I got to work and saw a very familiar face.

"Hey Ally" I greeted my friend and embraced her in a hug.

"Hey Sarah" she greeted back, but looked down at the ground. That wasn't like her.

"What's up? You feeling guilty about something, maybe standing up your friends? Maybe one guy in particular?" I teased.

"No" she tried denying it "ok, yes" she gave in right away "I'm really sorry, and I hope Phil doesn't hate me, but I was busy ok?"

"If you say so" I replied unconvinced.

"Seriously Sarah I was actually busy, something came up"

"Fine" I surrendered, and then added "And I didn't say that sarcastically, if you really were busy then there's nothing you could do about it"

"Thank you, I just hope Phil wasn't as skeptical as you"

"He was quite disappointed, but I'm sure he'll get over it. He's not the type to hold grudges, at least not over people he likes" I said the last part in a slightly teasing tone.

"Shut up" Ally slapped me playfully on the arm.

Our shift went by in a flash and the subject of that Saturday didn't come up again. Even though it was a bit out of her way Ally walked me to my apartment. I had mentioned that Dan and I were having "trouble in paradise" during our lunch break so she wanted me to tell her everything about it. Of course.

So, we walked an talked and I told her about all of my suspicions.

"I don't know if you're reading too much into this or not. It sounds pretty realistic though" Ally admitted.

"I don't even know, I'll have to try to get a hold of him though and see if he'll actually talk to me properly" I concluded.

"I hope you two work it out, I'm routing for you guys. We'll talk later, ok?"

"Yeah" I agreed embracing her in a hug before she walked off in the direction of her own apartment. I climbed the stair to my floor and let myself into my apartment.

It was just as well to get it over with as soon as possible, so I dialed Dan's number. As I had foreseen he didn't pick up, he never really didn't pick up and if he did miss a call he always called back later. He was definitely ignoring me now. I would have barged in to his apartment, but I didn't have the motivation to do that right then. I'd wait it out and see if I was able to contact him.

The rest of the evening was passed in the usual unexciting fashion. I talked to Anna for a little while, had food, watched some series' and lurked around on the internet.

In the morning I sent Phil a text "_Just checking, but Dan is still alive right?"_

He answered almost right away "_Yeah, what's going on with you guys? He won't tell me anything_"

"_Don't worry your pretty little mind, we'll figure it out. I just wish he'd actually talk to me. You guys got anything doing this evening btw?_"

"_I'll talk to him again. Yeah, we do actually, some fancy meeting at the bbc_"

"_Do that, grill him real good. Ooh, good luck, about that show you do for them at Christmas?_"

"_You are such a good fan Sarah, we don't actually know, but I guess. Have fun at work today_"

"_Well, good luck anyway, I'll try my best :P_"

"_Thanks_"

Our conversation ended there and I headed off to work. Ally wasn't working the same shift as I was, so the day went by a little slower than usual. When I got home I couldn't do anything about the Dan situation, but I had been sending him a text about once every five hours, just to remind and irritate him.

They usually looked something like this "_Dan you better not be ignoring me_", "_TALK TO ME YOU LITTLE SHIT!_", "_How can I like someone so much and at the same time hate them the same amount?_", once in a while he'd give a short answer like "_Ok_" or "_Idk_".

Tuesday evening I had Valery over for dinner, we chatted and laughed. I also told her about how irritating Dan was being and she sympathized. We Skyped with Marcus who had flown to Spain for his amazingly cool job as a photographer. Marcus apologized for making Dan jealous, but I said it wasn't his fault, Dan was just being insecure.

If Dan didn't call me by Wednesday after I got home from work, I had vowed to myself that I would storm his apartment and demand answers.

Wednesday went by in the same fashion as Tuesday, although Phil texted me and said that he'd tried talking to Dan, but that Dan still didn't want to spill anything, and Ally was at work. She seemed distracted, but we still talked and had fun like we usually did.

When I got home Dan still hadn't called me back, so I stuck with what I had promised myself and after grabbing a bite to eat I left my apartment again and headed towards where Dan and Phil lived.


	15. Chapter fourteen

**Chapter fourteen**

I knocked sharply on the door and waited for a reply. Phil opened looking kind of confused; I guess they didn't get a lot of people knocking on their door, but when he focused on me his facial expression turned into realization.

"Hey, Sarah. You keep showing up like this, not that I don't like seeing you, but there seems to be a pattern forming that I don't like" he admitted, and I knew it was true, I had already come to their apartment once because I needed to talk some sense into Dan.

"I know, can I come inn though?" I asked still standing in the hall outside their door.

"Oh, of course" Phil stepped aside and gestured for me to enter.

"Thanks, now where might I find my exceedingly stubborn boyfriend?"

Phil chuckled at that "Probably his room"

"I guess I'll go try to get our relationship back on track now then" I started up the stairs.

"Good luck" Phil followed me up.

"I might need that actually" I added turning the corner and heading towards Dan's bedroom, leaving Phil to whatever I had interrupted him from.

I knocked and hurt a grunt that sounded like "Come inn" from inside, so I turned the door handle and swung the door open stepping into Dan's room. As usual he was on his bed in is crippling internet browsing position.

"Hey"

He looked up "Oh, what are you doing here?" he asked.

"That's a lovely way of greeting your girlfriend" I retorted.

"Sorry, hey" he paused "So, what are you doing here?"

I sighed "I'm here to talk to you, you idiot"

"I figured" he conceded.

I walked over to his bed and sat down on the edge "I guess you know what I'm here to talk about as well then?"

"Yes, mum" he whined.

"Don't do that, don't put in the sarcasm, and don't act like this isn't serious. This is serious; this is our relationship, that's very serious. Do you know why it's serious?" I asked, I could just feel all the anger and confusion that I had been feeling for the past few days building up inside me, and once again it was building up to a major rant.

"Yes, of course I do"

"No, I don't think you do. It's serious because it's important and it's important because I care about it. I care about our relationship and about you, about us, being together. Now, I can see that there's a problem, and because I care I want to fix it, but I can't do that if you keep locking yourself away in you little cave and shutting me out. I need you to talk to me" I insisted dragging out the "e" in "need".

"Ok" he agreed reluctantly.

"Good, now please close the computer" I paused waiting for him to do as I said "Now, what's up? Why are you ignoring me?"

"I don't know, I just" he trailed off.

"That's not good enough Dan" I concluded "Let's start from the beginning. What's with this feeling like you have to do something about being healthier?"

"That's nothing"

"Don't brush it off like that, it's not nothing. If it was nothing then we wouldn't be taking about it, and Phil would never have brought it up" I pointed out.

"Damn Phil" Dan muttered under his breath. "I don't know, I've just started feeling insecure"

"Why? I mean I know you've always been kind of insecure, but we all are. Why do you suddenly feel like you have to do something about it, you've never really cared before" this was the part that confused me the most.

"Because of you ok?" he paused waiting for me to answer, but I didn't say anything, just motioned for him to continue "I guess it's just that when I look at you, you're this amazing person, and then I look at me, and there's this nagging voice inside my head telling me that you're going to find someone better"

"Flattery will get you nowhere mister" I chuckled and Dan joined in to "No, but seriously, I'm with you, and there's a reason for that. Why can't you see that?" I asked.

"I mean, I do, but then I see you around other guys and, like the guy in the restaurant, and I'm afraid that you're going to see that I'm not good enough for you"

"I thought you were over that guy" I complained.

"I was, but then you start talking about this guy who Valery introduced you to, what was his name?" he paused.

"Marcus, but Dan"

He cut me off "Yeah, Marcus. And you start talking about how amazing he is and I'm left here thinking 'is there something going on between them?'"

"I knew it" I exclaimed, Dan started to protest, but I cut him off right away "I knew you thought there was something going on, but you see Dan you don't understand, but there isn't anything going on"

Dan butted inn "Well when you say it like that I obviously get that there isn't anything going on, but"

"No, you don't believe me. Dan if you had let me explain that night you would have known that Marcus is gay" I paused letting that information sink in before I went on "There couldn't possibly be anything going on between us, I'd be more worried about something going on between the two of you. I was just trying to share my excitement with you, my excitement at meeting a new friend, because that's what people do in relationships, they share their lives with each other, and they share their joy and their pain. Things which you haven't been sharing at all"

"First of all, that's good to know. But I don't know, when you put it like that it all seems so obvious and easy, but it's not that easy because I can't help but feel insecure when I look at you and I can't help feeling jealous when I see or hear about you with other guys"

"Goodness, this is just like me when we started dating, feeling like I wasn't good enough for you. I thought I proved that the other night. You don't have to feel like you're not good enough for me, you're best thing in my life right now, so good in fact that I find myself feeling like I'm not good enough for _you_" I scooted further in on the bed so I came closer to Dan "I watched you for so many years dreaming about meeting you, knowing that it would never happen. Knowing that you would never care for me the way I cared for you. Because I felt like we had a connection, like I knew you, but however much you tried to deny it I knew I could never be more than a fan to you. You can't personally know and have a connection with every fan, that's impossible" I paused trying to find the right words "Um, so from the get go I was set on the fact that this would never work out. You can't imagine how much I gushed to Anna after that first time you walked into Starbucks. Goodness I was the epitome of a fan girl; I was like a twelve year old with a crush again. I screamed internally every time our hands touched. And when our relationship started to build I kept questioning it, still set on the fact that you would never be interested in me. Even when it was blatantly obvious that we both liked each other I was stupid enough not to see it" I paused, searching for the right words again "You know this. Um, so that's my story I guess. Now it seems to me that yours is pretty similar"

"Wow, how do you do that, put everything into words like that? It's amazing"

I looked down blushing slightly "I don't know, I'm usually not that good with words, but with you it just kind of comes naturally" I admitted.

I felt Dan's hand on my chin as it lifted my head up so I was looking in his eyes. We both leaned in at the same time and met in the middle for a short, soft, but at the same time very meaningful kiss. We knew what it meant. When we parted I leaned in, but this time I just wrapped my arms around him, he wrapped his arms around me and we just sat there holding each other. I had my face buried in the crook of his neck and his sweater, and I could feel his breath on the back of my head.

I pulled away and sat back "Dan will you promise to tell me next time you feel insecure, or jealous, or unhappy or happy, or just tell me what you're thinking and feeling because I just really want to know so I can help you and experience it with you" I gushed.

All Dan said was "I promise" then he leaned forward and kissed me "And that goes for you too missy" and then he kissed me again.

"I promise" then I kissed him and we kept kissing as we lay down on his bed with our arms around each other. We broke the kiss, but never let go. He squeezed me tight and we lay on top of the blanket looking up at the sealing and the moment was perfect.


	16. Chapter fifteen

**Chapter fifteen**

"Can I stay over tonight?" I asked. I just wanted to feel him lying beside me; I just wanted to know that I had him there and that he cared for me like I cared for him.

"Of course" he answered placing some strands of hair that had fallen in my face out of my eyes.

"Thanks" I rolled over on my side and snuggled my face into Dan's chest and he kissed the top of my head. I pulled the sleeves on my sweater over my hands and balled them into fist and rested them on his chest as well.

A few minutes later, after dragging ourselves out of our comfortable positions on Dan's bed, we entered the lounge where Phil was sat on the couch watching some series.

"We made up, see I told you I'd fix this" I announced to the room. Dan wrapped his arms around my waist from behind and kissed my cheek.

"That's great. Did you make up like last time?" he asked giving us a cheeky look.

"Phil" Dan whined "No, we didn't ok?"

"Why do you even need to know?" I asked embarrassed.

"He's my best friend; I need to know how his love life is going. I mean I'm basically living _my _love live vicariously through him" Phil explained.

"Well, you shouldn't have to" I looked at Dan and we gave each other knowing looks. "I'm talking to Ally tomorrow" I whispered only loud enough for Dan to hear and he answered with an eager nod.

The evening was still young, the three of us ended up watching TV for a while before ordering some Chinese food. One of my favorites. We sat around the dining table engrossed in our meals occasionally spitting out bits of conversation through stuffed mouths. Dan had some editing to do so he went off to his bedroom to do that, leaving Phil and I to enjoy each other's company while we watched some anime movie I'd never seen before. It was a really sweet movie about a girl and this big thing that looked like a cross between a bear and a cat. The name of the movie was "My neighbor Totoro".

"That was so cute" I squealed when the movie ended "I had no idea anime was so adorable"

"What do you mean adorable? I'm a man, I don't watch adorable movies" Phil teased as he got up to take out the movie and put it back in its case. At that I laughed out and Phil feigned a look of hurt before breaking out into a grin, glad that I appreciated his sense of humor.

We got lost in conversation after that, Phil insisted on telling me everything about his and Dan's favorite animes. Before long darkness started to creep across the evening sky and I found myself yawning. I decided to go check if Dan had finished his editing yet so we could get some sleep.

Dan had finished editing, he wasn't really tired, but he agreed to go to bed since I was. I borrowed a shirt and we climbed into bed. Dan held around me and the warmth from his body and the blanket lulled me into a welcomed slumber.

I was up early the next morning; I had to go to work as usual. Careful not to wake the sleeping beauty beside me I slipped out of the bedroom. I was able to get myself basically ready with what I could find in the bathroom of the apartment. Before leaving I checked on Dan's bedroom again. He was still fast asleep. I crept over to the bed and placed a soft kiss on his lips; he stirred, but didn't wake, before leaving the apartment.

I had given myself enough time to get back to my own apartment, make myself look presentable and have bite to eat before I had to rush off to work.

"Hey babe" Ally greeted me as she walked into the shop a few minutes after I had arrived.

"Hey to you too, I'm didn't know if we'd have the same shift, I'm glad we do though"

"That's always nice to hear. Anything special?"

"Yeah, actually. I have been an amazing and very persuasive friend and hooked you up for another gig at the Dan and Phil apartment, so you better not be busy again. What do you say?" I asked beaming at her.

"Ok, when?" she asked in a somewhat exasperated voice.

"Hey, I didn't have to do this for you. You could at least seem a little excited to see your dear Philly again" I accused.

"I'm sorry. Of course I'm happy that you've arranged it for me again. Was it really that hard?" she seemed surprised and intrigued.

"Well, I mean Phil was kind of hurt the last time. He would never say no, but you could tell he was a little reluctant. No one likes being hurt or setting themselves up to possibly be hurt again" I explained.

We arranged a time on Saturday and I made her check her calendar to be completely sure she didn't have any plans. She assured me that she was completely free that day.

"I thought you and Dan were going through a rough patch though" Ally recalled our conversation from earlier that week.

"We were, but I being the most mature in the relationship decided to confront him, so we figured it out. Everything's back to bliss at the moment"

"That's great, I knew you two would make it work. A blind person would be able to see how much you two care about each other and how good a match you are. I really admire your relationship" she spoke honestly.

"Wow Ally, thank you. I guess I can't take credit for all of it, Dan's a small part of it as well" we both giggled.

This whole conversation was had between attending to customers, making coffee and doing various other chores around the coffee shop. We left work and parted ways a few blocks down the street from the Starbucks.


	17. Chapter sixteen

**Chapter sixteen**

Friday rolled around; I had fallen asleep the night before after a Skype conversation with Anna and during a long one with Dan.

After getting up and ready I stepped out of my apartment and locked my door behind me, when I was ambushed from behind. It was Valery wondering how it had gone with Dan. I assured her we were back to our normal, carefree relationship. Once again a friend of mine admitted how much they admired my relationship.

Ally wasn't at the shop when I got there, and didn't come in after me either, so I figured we had different shifts. During my lunch break my phone started vibrating and buzzing in my pocket. I picked it up and saw it was Ally calling.

"Hey" I greeted.

"Hey, it's Ally"

"Yeah, I know, I have caller ID, like everyone else" I teased.

"Fine" she huffed "I was just calling because I knew you have your lunch break now, and I just wanted to talk to you because I've been having second thoughts about Saturday" she admitted.

"Why? What's there to have second thoughts about?"

"I don't know, I know it sounds really pathetic and stuff, but it's just that Phil seems like such a nice guy"

"Why is that a bad thing?" I asked confused.

"He's just so nice, too nice of a guy for me. I mean we have some things in common, but we're also very different people. I don't want to bring up his or my hopes when I know in the back of my mind that it'll never work out" she explained.

"Oh, honey, don't say that. I saw how the two of you acted with each other the last time. There must have been something there. You guys have lot's in common, and even if you don't I mean look at Dan and me. The only thing we really have in common is our love of YouTube, a quite similar taste in music and our enjoyment of each other's company"

"I know that, and I see that, it's just that even though you guys don't have all that much in common you're still very similar people. Phil and I are just very different people"

"Maybe you're not as different as you think. And anyway you know what they say; opposites attract" I tried to convince her.

"I guess, I just don't know Sarah, I guess I haven't really dated a guy like him before. It was the same last week, I just didn't know . . . " she trailed off.

"Ha!" I cheered "I knew it. You weren't busy, you were scared" I taunted.

"Yeah, that's great; strike me while I'm down. Superb plan to convince me to come on Saturday" she insulted.

"Well, you're not dating yet. So, if you guys end up dating, which would be really cool cause then we could go on double dates and stuff. Come on Ally it can't hurt to try, or at least just come and hang out with us, that can't hurt. If you and Phil don't end up getting along that well you can always just talk to me the whole time, but I doubt that that will be a problem" I put in my last and best, convincing argument.

"Ok, ok, you've convinced me, I'll come" she finally gave in.

"Great, because I've got to get back to work. I'll see you tomorrow"

"Ok, should I just come over to your place?"

"Yeah, just meet me at my apartment and then we can walk together over to theirs"

"Ok, see you"

"Bye" I said ending our conversation.

**Phil's POV**

I woke up out of breath and in a cold sweat. The night before I'd been so nervous and partly excited that it had taken hours to fall asleep. When I finally did fall asleep I had the most horrific nightmare ever. I had dreamt that all of the people in my life whom I loved had slowly been torn away from me.

The clock said it was eight am, and I doubted I'd be able to get any more sleep so I climbed out of bed. I went straight to the bathroom to take a shower. After that I felt nice and clean, and had realized that it had only been a dream, even though it felt real.

Dan was, like expected, still fast asleep. So after eating some cereal, I figured I'd have to humor myself for a while. I sat down on the couch to watch some TV, but I couldn't settle on a channel. I went on my computer, but soon I got bored of the internet as well. I didn't feel like playing any of the videogames from our ginormous collection, or reading the book I was working on, or watching a movie, or doing anything really.

For a while I just sat on the couch without doing anything; not even moving. Of course that got boring pretty quick. This was usually what happened when I was nervous about something. First I'd get completely bored and not know what to do with myself, and then right before the thing I was nervous about was going to happen my brain kicked into overdrive and reminded me of all the things I had to get done making me run around the flat like I was possessed or just pace back and forth not being able to sit down or relax.

In the end I decided to make a list of food we needed and pop down to the shop, just to keep myself occupied. I was fine once I got out of the flat because in a way I'd set myself a goal; go down to the shop, get the food, pay for it and get yourself home. In the flat I constantly had to come up with things to do instead of having one task that could occupy me for a longer period of time.

When I got back it was already eleven o'clock. Dan had told me the day before that Sarah, and Ally (for sure this time) would be coming over at around twelve. Now I was suddenly overly stressed. I had about an hour till they'd be there and I still had to get ready; find out what to wear, fix my hair, I had to make sure the flat looked presentable and I had to make sure we had some food to offer our guests when they arrived.

Suddenly I was furious with myself that I hadn't done any of this before I'd gone out. I'd wasted a whole hour in the morning doing absolutely nothing when I could have been getting things ready and so I didn't have to stress about it right before our guests were due.

For the next hour I rushed around, first getting dressed and straightening my hair, then trying frantically to clean up the parts of the flat that were slightly messy before whipping together some pretty simple hors d'oeuvres and placing them neatly on a platter. When I finished it was a couple minutes after twelve. The girls hadn't arrived yet, so the only thing left for me to do was pace. Dan tried valiantly to calm me down and get me to give myself a break, but to no avail.

After what seemed like ages, but was probably just ten minutes, doorbell rang and Dan announced he'd go answer it. After hearing Dan's footsteps heading down the stairs to the entrance hall of our flat I heard the door open and muffled voices. Footsteps started coming up the stairs again and the voices grew stronger.

I was rooted to the spot, standing awkwardly in the middle of the lounge. If I could have I would have moved, but I gave up on that thought knowing I wouldn't succeed. So, I stood there staring at the door, waiting for my friends to emerge and release me from my bindings.

The door to the lounge swung open and the three of them, Dan, Sarah and Ally, all walked inn one by one. Once again Ally caught my eye right away. She was wearing skinny jeans and a loose top, nothing out of the ordinary. Yet, I couldn't take my eyes off her. Even when Sarah embraced me in a hug, all though I of course reciprocated the sign of affection, my attention was mainly focused on the tall blond beauty by the door playing nervously with a strand of her hair.

It wasn't until Sarah spoke that I was transported out of my trance "Hey Phil, you remember Ally right?"

Automatically I answered the first thing that popped into my mind "Of course I do, how could I forget?"

At that Ally looked up at me and met my gaze for the first time that day, and then she smiled. A bright, happy, hopeful, genuine smile. All I could do for the next few seconds was to goofily return that smile with an even bigger one of my own.


	18. Chapter seventeen

**Chapter seventeen**

"Are you ready yet?" Ally called from the living room again.

"No, Ally, I'm not ready" I marched out to confront her "Just because you came over twenty minutes early doesn't mean that I'm ready twenty minutes early"

"I'm sorry I was nervous, so I couldn't sleep, so I got up early and so I got ready early and then I came over here early because I couldn't stand waiting around my flat any longer" Ally complained.

"Well, then stop nagging me or we'll never get out of here" I concluded.

"Fine, go get ready, got get ready" she shooed me out of the room.

I hadn't known Ally forever, but id' never seen her so nervous before. She wasn't even the nervous type, she usually said things like "Just go and see what happens" or "There's no point in stressing over it". Like she'd told me the day before, she'd never had feelings for a guy like Phil. From what she'd told me I knew she'd mostly dated guys who could easily characterized as assholes. That didn't mean that she didn't deserve to be with a nice guy for once. I really hoped it would work out and that smoothing would actually come from their obvious feelings for each other.

I picked out my clothes and dressed, fixed my hair and makeup, but the whole time I made sure to take my time, dragging everything out. Just to annoy and stress Ally out a little bit more.

As I walked out to the living room when I had finally finished I heard Ally groan to herself "come on" before I entered.

"Ok, I'm ready" I announced.

"Finally" she exclaimed throwing her hands in the air in exasperation "Come on, we're already running late" she continued, dragging me through the hall to the door of the apartment.

"Dan said 'around twelve' he didn't say 'be here at exactly twelve o'clock sharp', we'll be fine"

"But what if they're waiting for us? I'd hate to have made them wait"

"You never care if people have to wait for you. What's gotten into you Ally? Bitten by the love bug?" I teased.

"Shut up Sarah" she cut me off, no amusement in her voice. Then she broke into a small nervous smile "Ok, maybe just a little" she admitted.

We arrived at the door to Dan and Phil's apartment. As I was about to ring the doorbell Ally touched my arm to stop me. I looked over at her, her eyes were filled with nervousness and they looked at me as if pleading with me 'don't make me do this'. I held her hand and squeezed to reassure her. I breathed out and in slowly, signaling for her to do the same before I reached out again and rang the doorbell.

Dan opened the door a few moments later. I flung my arms around him and kissed him while we backed up into the apartment to let Ally in as well.

"Hey" he mumbled into the kiss.

I pulled away, arms still around his neck "Hey" I returned the greeting before pecking him quickly on the lips again and breaking apart from him.

"Hey Ally, nice to see you again" Dan greeted her politely.

"Yeah, I've heard so much about you since the last time, it'll be nice to hang out while you're sober" she teased, her nervousness seemingly evaporated.

"I agree" Dan laughed.

Ally and I removed our jackets and shoes before following Dan up the stairs and entering the lounge. Phil was standing there, just in the middle of the room. So, I walked up to him and gave him a big hug. He hugged me back, but it seemed his mind was occupied with something else.

"Hey Phil, you remember Ally right?" I asked, I knew he did, but I just felt like I should say something.

His face lit up at the mention of her name and he blurted out "Of course I do, how could I forget?" about the cutest thing he could have said.

I looked over my shoulder at Ally who was standing by the door to the lounge. She looked up at Phil and smiled at him nervously. When I looked back at Phil he had a ginormous goofy smile on his face as well. For a few moments they just stood there grinning at each other.

"Wow, intense eye contact. I hope you guys have protection" I laughed trying to pull them out of whatever was surrounding the two of them making them forget about the rest of the world. Dan laughed with me and gave me a high five, but the two others just glared at me disappointedly.

After that Dan suggested we sit down, so we sat down around the coffee table, Dan and I on the couch and Ally and Phil on each their chair, and ate the small appetizers Phil had prepared. We talked for a while, just friendly chatter. I noticed that neither Phil nor Ally ever really looked at each other and when they accidentally looked at each other at the same time and made eye contact they both quickly looked away. Goodness this was going to be harder than I thought.

Why did they both have to be so shy around each other? I'd have to do something drastic or this was going to take an eternity.

I grabbed Dan's hand and stood up "We'll be back" I announced. I lead him out of the room, down the hall and into his bedroom.

"What are we doing?" Dan asked confused.

"That should do it" I said more to myself than as an explanation for Dan.

"What should do what? Sarah you're not making any sense" Dan protested and started walking out of his door again.

I reached out a hand grabbing o to his arm to stop him "No" I said pulling him back into the room again "They need to be left alone, the last time I left them alone it was amazing how much they bonded. They don't seem to be able to make any progress when we're around"

"Ok, very cunning of you" Dan rolled his eyes to signal his sarcasm "So, what had you planned we do in here while we leave them sitting awkwardly around the lounge not saying anything?"

"I don't know. We could just talk to start with"

We sat down on Dan's bed and talked. First about how bad Dan thought my plan was, but then after about ten minutes when neither Phil nor Ally came to try to find us he admitted that my plan might be working. He showed me a couple funny videos on YouTube then bounced a few new video ideas off me. We ended up just watching an episode of Game of Thrones after that since I wasn't finished with the last season yet and Dan insisted. It's not like we had anything better to do. So, we snuggled up on his bed and watched an episode.

When that was over I decided it was time to go out and check on our two friends.

We walked out to the lounge and found Ally and Phil sat cross legged on the floor in front of the TV playing a videogame.

"Hey guys" I said.

They both looked up at us standing in the doorway "Hey" Phil said before they both turned back to the TV screen.

"Nice to know you're not dead" Ally remarked over her shoulder.

Dan and I sat down with them and soon we were all playing. Well, the three of them were playing, while I was failing at playing. To be fair I had warned then that I sucked at videogames, but they talked me into it.

"WOHO!" Ally cheered after winning in Mario Cart for what felt like the hundredth time.

Dan threw down his controller "Ugh, I give up" he exclaimed.

"I told you I was good" she taunted smugly.

"Yeah, but no one's _that_ good. No one has ever won over both Dan and I that many times" Phil explained "You sure she wasn't cheating?" he asked me under his breath suspiciously.

"Hey, I had enough trouble trying to concentrate on not driving off the road; I couldn't pay attention to what anyone else was doing" I complained exasperatedly.

"I didn't cheat" Ally insisted "Goodness, you want to play another round?" she asked.

"Fine" Phil hissed back.

We played another round and to everybody's surprise . . . Ally won again. Phil and Dan just had to admit that she was the best Mario Carter ever. A title which she accepted graciously.

"See, I told you so!" was her acceptance speech.

"You're too smug for your own good" I said, Dan and Phil agreed promptly.

"I think we should do something else now, so the two of you don't get too heated" Dan suggested indicating Phil and Ally who were at that point having a staring competition, something Phil was incomparably good at. He never blinked. Dan and I managed to break them up.

Together we decided that it was time to get out of the confiding apartment. We left to get some lunch at a small diner a few blocks away from their building. We sat around the small table chatting and eating our food.

Phil and Ally were much more relaxed and spoke more freely now than when we had all be sitting around the coffee table in Dan and Phil's apartment. Dan and I exchanged proud glances when they went off into conversations of their own, seemingly forgetting that their two other friends were still there. Our set up had worked and so had my 'leave them alone' plan, which I was going to brag about for a long time.

After a while of sitting around it was starting to get dark outside and we decided to part ways. Ally left in one direction and I walked together with the boys back to their apartment.

"So, that went well" I said, suggesting Phil confirm it.

"I guess it did"

"Come on Phil. You've got to give me more than that. What did you guys do when we left the room? What did you talk about? Did you flirt?" I interrogated.

"We didn't do much; we had a good time though. I'm sure you can get all the details off Ally. That's the kind of thing girls talk about right?"

"Yeah, we do, but I want to hear it from you, I want to know both sides. Everything is much more fun if you know both sides. Don't worry though, I won't tell her anything. . . Well, maybe I'll tell her something's, but not everything. You can stay dark and mysterious if you want" I tried convincing him.

"Sorry, my lips are sealed"

"Hmpf" I huffed disappointed.

"Hey, he barely even tells me anything, you should be grateful you got a 'we had a good time', that's more than he gives most people" Dan commented.

"I don't care, I'm not most people. I'm his best friend girlfriend and his 'girlfriends' best friend. That gives me a lot of power. The power to take people away, but also to put in a good word for him" I directed my reply toward Phil.

"Is that a threat?" Phil asked.

"Maybe" I answered vaguely.

"Sorry, still not giving you anything" he decided.

"Fine" I concluded. I considered continuing to black mail him, but I couldn't do that. Why did Phil have to be so nice? Why did I have to be so nice?

For the rest of the way to their apartment we walked in silence. When we reached their building we all said goodbye; Phil and I with a slightly colder than usual hug and Dan and I with a savory kiss.

I walked home alone. I had to talk to Ally the first chance I got.


End file.
